Since Sophie Brough has her sights set on becoming a doctor, it is no surprise that science subjects like biology and chemistry feature prominently in her university timetable. What she did not expect was that she would also have the opportunity to study subjects as diverse as advanced French and Australian flora and fauna as part of her undergraduate degree.

Indeed, if Ms. Brough, a second-year student at the University of Melbourne, had enrolled in medicine before 2008, when would-be doctors completed a bachelor's degree in medicine followed by a bachelor's in surgery, there probably would have been little room for her to include such subjects in her schedule.

But since 2008, when the university introduced the "Melbourne Model," all undergraduate students have been required to enrol in one of six degree programme where they are required to take "breadth" courses from outside their own faculty.

In a departure from the traditional Australian system of studying for specialist professional degrees at the undergraduate level, students at the University of Melbourne, one of the oldest and most prestigious in Australia, now embark on more specialized training for professions like medicine, law and engineering only at the postgraduate level. Ms. Brough, for instance, is enrolled in a bachelor of science programme and hopes to complete a doctor of medicine programme.

It is a structure that more closely reflects the U.S. model of higher education, and one that proponents say produces more rounded graduates equipped to cope with complex challenges in an era when students are more likely to have multiple careers.

But with the Melbourne Model now three years old, and another Australian university preparing to introduce a similar system next year, not everyone is convinced of its merits. While some students, like Ms. Brough, have welcomed the development, a national students' union has derided the model as an attempt by universities to collect more tuition fees. Meanwhile, some academics predict that few Australian universities will adopt their own version of the Melbourne Model, because they believe many students still want to graduate as soon as possible and join the work force.

At the University of Melbourne, undergraduate students complete a three-year bachelor's degree in arts, biomedicine, science, commerce, environments or music. Students aiming for a career in a profession like law, medicine or engineering must then complete a more specialized master's degree.

For example, a would-be engineer would now most likely enroll in a three-year bachelor of science program, followed by a two-year master of engineering program. Previously, a student would have been a qualified engineer after completing a four-year bachelor's degree in engineering.

"Many of these pathways add an extra year, but of course what the student has as a result of that is a much broader undergraduate education as well as a more sophisticated professional education," said Philippa Pattison, a deputy vice chancellor at the university. Ms. Pattison said that in the past many students completed double undergraduate degrees, which also took at least five years, but that the old system lacked "coherence."

"We tried to organize a more coherent experience," she said, "by organizing a bachelor degree which focused on creating strong intellectual foundations but also gaining some broader understanding across other fields of knowledge and then going on to either employment or a more focused education experience whether it's professional training or research."

The new structure, university officials said, better prepares students for multiple careers and offers students more options, especially for those who do not know what they want to do when they start university. Last year, a student survey showed a higher level of student satisfaction compared with the surveys carried out before the new model was introduced, Ms. Pattison said.

The University of Western Australia will introduce a similar structure to the Melbourne Model next year.
"We're both trying to ensure that students graduate with a broader undergraduate background and a strong technical professional finish," said Bill Louden, a senior deputy vice chancellor at the University of Western Australia. "We both looked at the North America approach and see the benefit of doing it that way."

Starting next year, students at the university will study for a bachelor's degree in arts, commerce, design, science or philosophy, followed by a master's degree for a profession. While the amount of time required for degrees in fields like law, education, social science and architecture remains the same, programs for areas like medicine, dentistry and engineering will require an extra year of study. However, Mr. Louden said, many of the university's students already completed a bachelor's degree and a master's degree, meaning that they would not spend any additional time at university. Mr. Louden said the university wanted to give students more opportunities to develop research and communication skills, to study abroad and be able to decide on their profession while working on their degree rather than upon leaving high school.

The National Union of Students, however, argues that many students are concerned that they would be required to spend more time studying before they can enter the work force and be left with a larger tuition bill under the new models.

"The talk of pedagogical reasoning behind the moves often proves to be largely unfounded, and no overwhelmingly compelling argument has been made in Australia about why the study of law, medicine and other 'professional' qualifications has suddenly become too complex for undergraduate students," said Jesse Marshall, the union's president.

Mr. Marshall said the so-called advantages of students' being able to broaden their experience through "breadth subjects," and the chance to take three more years to decide on their area of specialization, were outweighed by factors like "the mandatory nature of breadth studies" and "the exorbitant cost associated with studying a postgraduate degree on top of undergraduate studies."

"If an undergraduate degree becomes seen as a steppingstone to some greater qualification, rather than a worthwhile, holistic and valuable award in its own right, students will lose out," he said.
Critics point to figures that show that the number of students listing the University of Melbourne as their first preference has dropped since the new model was introduced, while those listing Monash University in Melbourne, one of the University of Melbourne's biggest competitors, has risen.

Stephen King, dean of faculty of business and economics at Monash, has described the Melbourne Model as "one of the best things to ever happen to Monash University." He wrote on his blog that Melbourne had taken "their highly successful product and radically altered it in a way that the customers (i.e., the students) didn't like, leaving Monash as the first choice for a large number of students who previously chose the University of Melbourne."

Ms. Pattison said demand for courses at Melbourne outstripped supply.
"There's still enormous numbers of well-qualified students coming to Melbourne," she said. "We think it's good for students to have a choice."

John Dearn, an emeritus professor and interim director of the Center for Educational Development and Academic Methods at the Australian National University in Canberra, agrees that the introduction of the Melbourne Model has helped diversify higher education in Australia. But Mr. Dearn said he expected such models to remain a niche product.

Mr. Dearn said undergraduate students in Australia had historically taken "narrowly focused degrees" geared toward preparing them for employment. "I think the Melbourne Model is attractive because it does provide an alternative model," he said.

Mr. Dearn said he was attracted to the liberal education model because of its cross-disciplinary approach, but he could understand that students may feel differently. "If I was an 18-year-old worried about getting a job, I would have a very different view of the world," he said. "I hope there's a niche for that sort of course because I think we do need people who have a much broader understanding of issues. But the jury's out at this stage because certainly, in the current economic climate, the pressure on young people seems to be very much more concerned with getting a job, and perhaps only in retrospect will they appreciate the benefits of a broad form of education."

Ms. Brough, the University of Melbourne student, says that while the extra year of fees is a concern, she believes she will be better prepared to study medicine after her three-year undergraduate degree than if she had enrolled in medicine directly after high school. "You are adding to your years at uni," she said "but I think it's got an aim, and that's to prepare you, especially for the Melbourne graduate program."-nytimes.com